The government in Chisinau is dictatorial, Russophobic and imposes censorship, according to a report prepared by Russia and Belarus.
NEWS: The situation regarding the observance of fundamental human rights in Moldova continues to deteriorate. This is one of the conclusions of a Joint Report of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Belarus on the situation of human rights in Moldova.
The document states that after Russia launched the special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine and to protect the peaceful population of Donbas (SVO), changes in Moldova have generally negatively impacted Russian citizens and Russian-speaking residents. The “collective West” continues its persistent attempts to draw Moldova into the coalition of ardent Russophobes. A totalitarian regime is being established in the Republic of Moldova. Following the course of European integration, which is destructive for national interests, the current forces in Moldova are trying to turn Moldova into a Russophobic periphery of the European Union.
As mentioned, all the efforts of Maia Sandu’s regime have contributed to the formation of a police state in Moldova, with all its typical traits: restriction of electoral rights; purging the information space by imposing totalitarian methods of censorship; preventing free access to the media (especially Russian-language media); shutting down troublemaking TV channels; blocking Internet resources; destroying any forms of opposition.
[...] The report also notes that Moldovan authorities are pursuing a targeted policy of artificial de-Russification, discrimination against the Russian-speaking population and exclusion of the Russian language from all spheres of public life. It emphasizes that the Russian-speaking population of Moldova continues to be discriminated against at the level of state institutions. Russian compatriots, as well as Russian-speaking residents in general, often encounter difficulties in obtaining guarantees regarding the observance of their rights to access public services, to choose the language of education, and to receive information in their mother tongue. Cases of pressure and intimidation of pro-Russian activists have been recorded.
[...] The report states that today the leadership of the Republic of Moldova is almost entirely made up of Romanian citizens - holders of Romanian passports are president Maia Sandu, the heads of government and Parliament, deputies and ministers, judges and many high-ranking officials. “In this context, experts are not surprised that the entire activity of the Moldovan authorities is aimed at uprooting the national identity and replacing it with a Romanian one”, the Joint Report of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Belarus reads with respect to the human rights situation in Moldova.
NARRATIVES: 1. The Moldovan government promotes Russophobia. 2. The pro-European government in Chișinău imposes censorship. 2. The Republic of Moldova is a dictatorial state.
PURPOSE: To mobilize the Russian-speaking community and Russia sympathizers against government decisions; to describe the Republic of Moldova as an intolerant and repressive state towards the Russian minority; to discredit the European model as a development option.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: Minorities in the Republic of Moldova continue to use the Russian language, without any impediment from the authorities. On the contrary, Russian is used even by native Romanian speakers when they interact with native Russian speakers. Russian is also still studied in Romanian-language schools. Furthermore, about 16% of schools employ Russian-language teaching, which corresponds to the share of national minorities, so there can be no question of a violation of the right to education in Russian.
The Republic of Moldova has reported remarkable progress in terms of press freedom. According to the press freedom index, published annually by Reporters without Borders, the standing of the Republic of Moldova has improved considerably since 2022 – climbing to 35th place, according to the latest report.
On the other hand, Russian propaganda and its effects are visible every day in Moldova. Numerous studies and investigations have drawn attention to this phenomenon as part of Russia’s hybrid warfare against Ukraine’s western neighbor, aimed at bringing Moldova back into its sphere of influence. According to a study carried out by the Stockholm Center for East European Studies, hybrid attacks and propaganda directed against Moldova have intensified. “Moldova has been facing a constant barrage of disinformation attacks from Russia. These attacks have increased substantially since 2022”, the study shows.
“Given Russia's strong presence in Moldovan media, it has managed to systematically manipulate public opinion and weaken social cohesion. Traditionally, the Russian Federation promotes various manipulative narratives regarding Moldova’s Soviet past, implicitly the idea that the Republic of Moldova belongs to the so-called Russian World, Russkii mir. Starting 2014 (in particular, when the Association Agreement with the EU was concluded), Russia has also promoted narratives directed against the European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova”, according to the Analysis and Strategy for Increasing Resilience to Disinformation in the Republic of Moldova, developed by one of the most well-known think tanks in Chișinău, the Institute for European Policies and Reforms.
Internal monitoring reports also found that Russian TV channels rebroadcast in the Republic of Moldova were used as propaganda tools.
Since the start of the war, Russian and pro-Russian propaganda has launched several narratives regarding the influence or even control of the West over the authorities in Chișinău, who is allegedly ready enter the war in Ukraine on the side of Kyiv. A thesis used in this context is that of the establishment of a so-called authoritarian regime in Chișinău that is supported by a West that uses democratic principles only to be able to achieve its objectives, without believing in them. Veridica has previously dismantled such narratives.
BACKGROUND: The Republic of Moldova is on the verge of parliamentary elections that will take place on September 28, once again considered “crucial” for the country’s geostrategic orientation, for which the current pro-European administration and pro-Russian parties are battling. Several minorities in the Republic of Moldova (Russians, Ukrainians, Găgăuz, Bulgarians) are Russian-speaking, and most of their members opt for a rapprochement of the Republic of Moldova with Moscow.
Although the share of Russian-speaking minorities is decreasing, there are still politicians and parties that are trying to use minorities for electoral purposes, by promoting issues such as declaring Russian as the second “state” language.
There has also been an increase in messages in the Russian press about the alleged violation of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities and accusations against the government in Chișinău, which is compared to the power in Kyiv, which the Kremlin accuses of “nazification”.
The Republic of Moldova is the target of a hybrid war that intensifies every time around an election cycle. Russian propaganda turned up the aggression during the electoral campaign for the referendum and presidential election of October 2024, and recently, The Insider exposed the launch of a large virulent campaign, targeting Moldova, in the context of the parliamentary election, scheduled for this autumn.
Chișinău-Moscow relations have deteriorated over the past few years as the war has had direct consequences for the Republic of Moldova – rising prices, primarily for energy resources imported from Russia (gas), the destruction of transport logistics, increased security threats, etc. Due to missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, the Republic of Moldova has experienced several power outages. Several Russian missiles have entered the country’s airspace, and missile debris has fallen on its territory.
Russia is said to have plotted to violently overthrow the pro-European government; the plan has been described by authorities in Chișinău, Kyiv and international officials. The plan allegedly involved fugitive politician Ilan Shor, convicted in a large-scale bank fraud case in 2014. Shor officially moved to Moscow, after several years in Israel, and took over the leadership of a bloc of small, pro-Russian and openly anti-EU parties that campaign for Moldova's accession to the Kremlin-led Eurasian Union.
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